After over a year from when it was originally announced, the access rules for Delta Sky Clubs have finally changed (for the worse). However, I’m expecting not much change to crowding.

Annual limits now in effect

Back in 2023, Delta announced changes to its loyalty program. One of those changes included moving away from a model where Delta Reserve and American Express Platinum cardholders get unlimited access to Delta Sky Clubs when flying Delta to access being limited to a certain number of visits per year. How many times you get to access their lounges depends on the card.

• The Delta Reserve card gets you in their lounges 15 times per year.
• The American Express Platinum card (not to be confused with the Delta Platinum card) gets you in their lounges 10 times per year.
• The American Express Business Platinum card also gets you in their lounges 10 times per year.
• There are no visit limits in place for Centurion cardholders.

Note that if you have multiple visits to lounges more than once in a 24 hour period, it will only count as one time. You can still visit the lounge after the visit limit has been reached, but it will cost you $50/visit.

Those limits are now in effect as of February 1, 2025.

When the annual limits do not apply

If you spend $75,000 in a single calendar year on an eligible card, your visits the rest of that year, the following year, and through January of the next year are covered. (This corresponds to what Delta calls the “Medallion Year”, which resets every February 1.)

If you spend $75,000 on a single Delta Reserve card, you’ll get unlimited visits for just the primary cardholder over that span of time. The Delta Reserve card comes with four one-time visit guest passes, which can come in handy if you’re flying with others.

If you spend $75,000 on a single American Express Platinum card, you’ll get unlimited visits to Delta for the primary cardholder and you plus two guests to the entire network of Centurion Lounges. That potentially makes this a more attractive (or less unattractive?) card for those not chasing Delta status.

What if you have more than one card?

If you’re one of the lucky ones paying over $1,000 in annual fees to American Express to have these eligible cards, you can think of these annual limits as mostly being additive. My understanding from others who have visited the lounge thus far is that when checking in, you can specify which card’s visit allowance to withdraw from. That can make it easier if you know you’ll be canceling a card midyear but keeping a different eligible card for later. However, that also means that you need to be careful on which card you’re using for your lounge visits.

Finding the limits in your account

Simply log into your Delta account on the website or the Fly Delta app to see your visit limit. If you log into the website, you’ll see the following notice on the My Skymiles page.

Then scroll under the MQD Earning Summary section to find the visit limits on each card. If you have more than one card, you can toggle between the cards to see the allowance on each.

The pop-up suggests you can also see your remaining visits at the American Express website, but I only see the tracker that shows how far away you are from spending $75,000.

Will this actually reduce crowding at Delta Sky Clubs?

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume it won’t do anything to the Delta Sky Club crowds. It’s really quite simple.

Let’s talk about the Delta fanatics first.

• Some people might already be spending upwards of $75,000 annually on their Delta cards. If so, this lounge limitation will have no effect on them whatsoever.
• Spending $75,000 on a Delta Reserve card will also give $7,500 MQD (useful for upgrade priority and requalifying status). Some might be dependent on the credit card spend for status and therefore feel inclined to hit the spend limit.
• Additionally, having two Delta Reserves (a personal and a business card) will give you a total of 30 visits as well as $5,000 MQD right out of the gate. A 30 visit limit is going to be hard to reach for most.

What about those who love the points hobby? Well, there’s a chance you might be someone who has multiple American Express Platinum cards, thus earning yourself 20 lounge visits. You might also be more tempted now to spend $75,000 on one of those cards for the unlimited access (with extra perks at the Centurion Lounge).

And what about everyone else? Well, realistically, you’re not going to see much reduction in lounge usage at the start of the year. Some might want to pace themselves at lesser-quality Sky Clubs if they anticipate hitting the limit. But most probably won’t slow down their own pace significantly. A 10 visit limit on the Amex Platinum card is similar to five roundtrips on Delta per year. I’m guessing that if you’re flying more than five times on Delta, you’re probably going to be interested in earning Delta status with the Reserve.

At best, you might see some light reduction in Delta Sky Club crowding at the end of the year. But that will only apply to those who hit the limit and decide not to pay the $50 fee to enter the lounge.

This might mean slightly more Centurion crowding

As if we need another reason to bemoan Centurion crowds, I’m thinking this will have more of an impact at Centurion Lounges than at Delta Sky Clubs. Why? Well, Delta Reserve and Amex Platinum cardholders get access to Centurion Lounges. (Delta Reserve cardholders only get access when flying Delta.) There are also no visit limits on these members from using the Centurion Lounge.

Tell me, if you think you’re going to hit the Delta visit limit in a year and you’re at an airport with both a Delta Sky Club and a Centurion Lounge, where do you think you’re going? You’d be going to the Centurion Lounge. And what happens after you’ve hit the visit limit? You’d be going to the Centurion Lounge.

What about someone who spent $75,000 on the Amex Platinum card? Well, you could go to the Delta Sky Club an unlimited number of times, but you might also want to go to the Centurion Lounge if you’re flying with others because of the two free guests.

If I had to guess, the reduction in crowds at Delta Sky Clubs will be less than the increase in crowds at the Centurion Lounge.

What are your thoughts about the Delta Sky Club access change?